The Atlanta Hawks didn’t look like they were going to have many positives from tonight, but that all changed when they erased a 23-point deficit by sinking 39.1% of their threes as a team and a whopping ten threes in the 2nd quarter. They can’t rely on that formula every night, but it was enough to hand San Antonio a 123-116 loss. Atlanta showed some bounce-back after a dissapointing game versus Memphis and they’ve got some momentum heading into a Saturday matchup with the Pacers.
Here are five players who stood out from tonight’s game in both positive and negative ways.
Kingston Flemings – Winner
Although Atlanta used a top-ten selection on him, the expectations on his rookie season should still remain rather low. He isn’t even 20 years old yet and he’s ostensibly the fourth guard on the roster behind NAW, Dyson Daniels and CJ McCollum.
Tonight was an excellent teaser for what he can eventually develop into. He made an all-around impact with 15 points, three rebounds, five assists (against only one turnover) and an impressive three steals. Most notably, he had this amazing play in transition where he stripped Ja’Kobi Gillepsie and finished at the rim around Tarris Reed Jr’s block attempt.
He also intercepted a pass intended for Dylan Harper when San Antonio had the starters in and fired it straight to Zuby Ejiofor for the flush. Heads-up moments like that are going to earn him more opportunities and it’s encouraging to see that he’s becoming more comfortable with NBA competition. His speed also flashed on several possessions, showing the ability to beat defenders off the dribble with some hints of deceleration to get easy shots.
Dyson Daniels – Winner
Daniels’ jump shot was a huge discussion point coming into this season. While he didn’t light up the floor (6-16 from the field), he did sink a catch-and-shoot three and did enough on offense to keep the defense honest.
His all-around impact was still excellent. He had 13 points and 11 rebounds, which was nice to see after a quiet outing against Memphis. I believe Dyson is one of the five best rebounding guards in the NBA and nights like tonights are a good example of why it’s easy to make that case.
CJ McCollum – Winner
McCollum’s shooting obviously shone for the Hawks in the postseason, but he wasn’t a very good shooter in the regular season for Atlanta. That being said, tonight’s game showed that McCollum is still the most dangerous shooter on Atlanta’s roster.
In just 19 minutes, he scored 14 points and went 4-6 from deep. That hot stretch helped Atlanta claw back into this game and they likely wouldn’t have won without him. He also dished out four assists and grabbed five rebounds. Even in his age-35 season, there’s still plenty that McCollum brings to this team. In my opinion, he’s made a very strong argument for keeping a starting spot even with Lu Dort eventually returning from injury.
Jalen Wilson – Loser
Wilson’s physicality and athleticism are good additions for this roster on paper. He had a good game against the Grizzlies with 12 points on 3-6 shooting, but he wasn’t able to build on that tonight. Although he finished as a +10, he scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting and didn’t make a huge difference on the court.
DFS had a strong performance tonight despite not shooting the ball well. Zuby Ejiofor and Asa Newell were both first-round picks by this regime and both played reasonably well against San Antonio. It seems that Wilson may not have much of a path to playing time.
Corey Kispert – Loser
Kispert’s shooting was helpful against Memphis, but his defense was a issue against the Spurs and he wasn’t efficient enough to justify playing him tonight. 10 points on 11 shots isn’t going to cut it and his minutes are hardly guarenteed if Finney-Smith continues to acclimatize.
I’m of the opinion that Kispert doesn’t really have a place on this roster due to his defense. While his shooting can be helpful, it comes with a considerable caveat and the Hawks can’t justify playing him extended minutes.
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